The Tallest Tower!

Chapter 4: It's a Steal

A/N: Here's another chapter! I hope everyone is enjoying this story so far. You can check the update status of any of my stories on my PROFILE page if you'd like, I just wanted to throw that out there for those of you who are curious about anything else I have written. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for your encouraging reviews! I'm always excited to write more for you guys! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and, for those of you who haven't yet, don't forget to REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HEY ARNOLD!

xXx

It was early. Very early. Arnold and Gerald woke themselves before the sun and were heading towards Hillwood on the first day of spring. Gerald had finally figured out what he wanted to do in order to get back at the King.

"I'm going to take his crown for myself!" he had said. "Swipe it right from the top of his head!"

No matter how many times Arnold tried telling him it wasn't a good idea, it was of no use. Gerald had his mind set on his goal. Instead of staying behind, Arnold decided to go with Gerald. They had become good friends in the previous months. Arnold didn't want anything bad to happen to Gerald.

If Gerald's plan works and we don't get caught, Arnold thought, then maybe I will be able to finally see my grandparents once more after all of this.

Arnold hid behind a tree once they reached the edge of the forest. Gerald followed suit before checking the clearing to see if the coast was clear. The clearing was a bit foggy, but Gerald could still make out the outline of the closest buildings. He turned to Arnold.

"Let's make a run for it," he said. Even in the dark, Arnold could see a subtle gleam in Gerald's eyes.

They ran from building to building on their way to the castle. Arnold had never been this close to the castle before. It was intimidating to see up close. He looked at the glistening walls and towers keeping the castle together. Once they reached the wall, Gerald looked around. There were no other doors leading into the castle besides the main gate, which could only be opened from the inside.

"Give me a boost, Arnold!"

Arnold quickly lifted Gerald up as far as he could and Gerald climbed the large rock of the castle wall the rest of the way. Arnold grabbed onto the rock and began climbing as well. He lifted his leg over the castle wall.

"We need to get to that big tower there," Gerald pointed to the widest tower in the center of the castle. "I'll bet that's where the king sleeps."

Arnold gave a short gasp. A knot was suddenly tied up in his stomach.

"Gerald," he said. "We can still go back, you know."

Gerald looked at Arnold, a smile forming on his face.

"We've already come this far!"

"But the sun's about to come up."

The sky was becoming lighter. They only had about another hour before the sun would be in the sky.

"Well then, let's hurry up and get this over with!" Gerald said as he stood up on the wall and quickly tiptoed his way toward the first tower.

For a moment, Arnold thought Gerald looked like one of his grandmother's many cats. Poised and graceful, carefully balanced and gliding along the castle wall. Arnold adjusted his little blue cap and stood up carefully, making sure not to look down as he followed Gerald.

xXx

It was getting dangerously close to daylight by the time Arnold and Gerald found a way inside the castle. They had only come across one castle guard who was making his rounds through the hallways, but luckily didn't see them in the dark passage. Gerald was about to turn another corner. He popped his head around to make sure the coast was clear before nudging Arnold and pointing to another guard, sleeping in his chair.

"I'll bet that's King Scheck's chamber," Gerald whispered, noticing the door behind the guard. "That guard is asleep! This is too easy!"

Arnold gulped down a lump in his throat.

"What if he wakes up?" Arnold whispered, but Gerald was already on his way to the door.

Gerald opened the door with ease before motioning for Arnold to come join him. He tiptoed past the guard carefully, noticing that the guard was much older than other guards he had seen. His beard was gray and a few age spots freckled his face.

Arnold finally caught up with Gerald and shut the door behind them. When he stepped forward, he accidentally ran into the backside of Gerald, who was as stiff as a board.

"Gerald, wha – ?"

"Would you look at this, Arnold!" Gerald gasped. "This isn't King Scheck's chamber at all!"

Arnold looked around and was astounded by the sight of gold. Mountains of it.

"This is a treasure chamber!" Gerald whispered excitedly. "Look! It's the crown! We did it!"

Sure enough, there was a crown in the center of the room sitting delicately on a pillow atop an ivory pedestal. Arnold and Gerald went closer for a better look. The gold on the crown was simply designed, but what made the crown look special were the emerald gems inlayed within the gold.

"It's beautiful," Arnold said just before Gerald casually swiped it from the pillow. "Hey! Be careful with that thing! It's delicate!"

"Calm down, Arnold! This is King Scheck's crown we're talking about! The same man who had us delicately thrown out of the Kingdom of Hillwood. Not a very nice thing to do, don't you think?"

Arnold sighed before looking around the chamber once more. The windows were illuminating the gold surrounding them.

"Gerald?"

"Not now, man, I'm checking out this crown!"

"Gerald – ."

Gerald placed the crown in his knapsack before checking out the remaining treasure. "Maybe I should grab more of this stuff."

"Gerald!"

"WHAT?!"

"We need to go! It's already getting light out! There are going to be a lot more guards outside if we don't hurry out of here!"

"B-but the treasure!"

"There's no time!"

Gerald rolled his eyes. "Oh, all right! But let's hurry up before I change my mind!"

Arnold and Gerald crept outside the chamber door as carefully and quietly as they could. The old guard was still asleep in his chair.

"Come on!" Gerald whispered as they made their way to the long hallway.

Just before they reached the corner, the passing guard that they had seen earlier was walking past.

"HEY!" he turned on his heel towards the two thieves and reached for his sword.

"Argh!" The older guard stirred and awoke. Once he realized what was happening, he quickly got out of his chair and ran to the scene.

The younger guard drew his sword and swung it at Arnold and Gerald.

"Duck!" Gerald yelled to Arnold.

"Grab them, Earl!" the young guard said.

The guard named Earl had finally caught up with the action and grabbed a hold of Arnold.

"Let go!" Arnold was face to face with Earl and was surprised that Earl did as he was told.

Suddenly, Arnold fell to the ground.

"Run!" Gerald helped Arnold up. They made a run for it.

"Why'd you let him go, Earl?!"

Earl watched as the two were getting away and scratched his head.

"Argh, there be something awfully familiar about that boy. Looks to be about my niece's age. She be in the convent, you know."

The young guard shook his head in anger before starting to run in Arnold and Gerald's direction.

xXx

Arnold and Gerald had finally made it outside the castle walls.

"Do you think we lost them?" Arnold was gasping for air.

Gerald panted for some time before answering. "I think so."

Arnold's ears perked up.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

Gerald listened, too.

"Uh oh."

"There they are, men! After them!"

There was a troupe of castle guards on horses running straight for Arnold and Gerald.

"RUN!"

Arnold and Gerald took off as fast as they possibly could, but it wasn't fast enough. One of the guards caught up with Gerald and took a hold of him.

"Arnold!"

Gerald fought the guard before grabbing his knapsack. "Go long, Arnold!"

The knapsack was thrown and Arnold caught it before running in the direction from where they came, towards the forest. Another guard on a horse cut him off before he could get too far. Arnold had no choice but to run in the opposite direction.

Gerald loosened himself from the guard and ran in another direction. He didn't know where to go, so he decided to hide somewhere. He took a sharp turn to throw off the guards and found a pair of large doors. To his surprise, they were not locked. He quickly slipped through the door, peeking through the crack to see if the guards were fooled.

"Aren't you a bit early for mass?" a soft, small voice was heard from behind him.

Gerald turned to find a young nun with the most beautiful face he had ever seen. She was walking towards him. She held a candle in front of her and held it up to get a better look at Gerald. She stopped short in her tracks.

"I – I don't think I've ever seen you before," her small, slanted eyes twitched slightly.

There was a lump in Gerald's throat. He gulped.

"I'm not from here," he said carefully.

The young nun cautiously came closer.

"You're breathing heavily. Did you run all the way here?"

Gerald nodded.

"Why?"

A sigh escaped Gerald's lips.

"It's a long story."

A small smile formed on her lips.

"There is plenty of time to hear it," she said and took a hold of Gerald's hand, leading him deeper into the cathedral. "Let's get you cleaned up and you can tell me all about it."

"You don't understand," Gerald said. "I'm not like you!"

The young girl blinked at Gerald.

"That is an obvious statement, but God created all of us, didn't he? What is your name?"

"Uh, m-my name is Gerald."

"Gerald," she said with a smile. "My name is Phoebe."

xXx

If anyone was wondering, yes, that was Sheena's uncle Earl that was supposed to be guarding the treasure chamber! I hope you enjoyed this read. There's much more to come, I assure you. Don't forget to leave a REVIEW and stay tuned for more!